Kalevala | Ilmarinen
One of the three main figures in the Kalevala, Ilmarinen the smith is a great Finnish cultural hero, second only to Vainamoinen. Ilmarinen's name derives from the Finnish word iltna, meaning air, and the ancient Finns may have considered him a deity of the weather and elements. There is no trace of this divine identity in Lonnrot's epic, however, except for the mention that Ilmarinen once hammered out the sky and the stars themselves. Rather, he is depicted as the steadfast, skillful craftsman, forever laboring at his forge.
Ilmarinen's most famous feat is the creation of...
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